The incorporation of animated characters and animated footage in television and film production based on initially live action and live action characters is a known technique, primarily used in big budget feature films.
The technique has numerous challenges. First among them is the need to suspend disbelief. This is the process by which the viewer may be willing to accept the presence of an animated character in a live action sequence and critical in achieving this is the balance, appearance and behaviour of the actors in relation to the animated character and the behaviour of the rendered animated character in the final sequence. If the actors do not react appropriately or the character is not properly orientated, the viewer will not treat the sequence as credible.
A known technique for incorporating an animated character in television and primarily film production is to utilise a ‘stand-in’ for the animated character in the live action filming. This stand-in might be a human actor or may be a remote control vehicle or simply a puppet of some description. In scenes where the animated character is expected to move in some way and where the action is shot from multiple angles using one or more cameras, it is necessary to track the location of the ‘stand-in’ for the animated character relative to its surroundings so that the animated character can be superimposed into the film in a realistic and believable manner. Where the stand-in is a human or other live actor, whose movements represent the movement of the animated character, the manner of movement of the actor may be recorded and that data used to manipulate movement of the animated character when incorporated into the final sequence during post-filming image production.
Such techniques among others have been used in feature films incorporating live and animated action, such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings
A particular disadvantage of the known techniques, especially for more complex sequences involving moving animated characters, is that in order to suspend disbelief an extraordinary effort is required to accurately track position and movement of the stand-in in a live action shot with multiple camera angles, to collate and utilise that data in order to realistically superimpose the animated character into the final sequence. This data is required to be used to incorporate the animated character frame-by-frame in typically footage comprising at least 50 frames per second. In the past, for example in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the incorporation of animated character could be achieved by hand, whilst other techniques have been used to install the animated character into the footage. More recently, animation software has been developed for creating the animation although incorporating the animation sequence into live action footage to produce a composite remains a laborious task. In any event, accuracy and completeness of movement and positioning data is required for effective incorporation of animated images.
This complexity and detail makes the incorporation of animated characters and animated footage into live action sequences exorbitantly expensive and thus only the domain of big budget feature films whilst being unachievable for other shows, such as television programmes or returning television series.
Position and movement data is typically recorded using a motion tracking and positioning system. Several have been described and typically use a stand-in, such as a live human actor, in the place of an animated character and often the data is captured in ‘grey space’, that is without reference to the surroundings. Large amounts of motion and positioning data then need to be correlated with the live action shot during incorporation of the animated character in a further operation.
There is a need for a method and system that enables more effective and efficient production of composite animation live action image recording and/or broadcast.
The present inventor has developed a technique and system that overcomes shortcomings of the prior art.